“To be or not to be”
This is the beginning of perhaps the most famous monologue in literature. The words reflect the state of sadness and desperation of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. His father, the King, died. His mother the Queen, remarried after his father’s death. This disturbed Hamlet greatly, because she married the King’s brother, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. Claudius is now King of Denmark. Hamlet feels much worse when from the ghost of his dead father he learns it was Claudius who killed his father. Within this difficult situation, Hamlet now thinks about what he must do next.

Now listen carefully: